1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving message on a communications network, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for receiving a text message using a caller ID unit adapted for receiving text messages.
2. Background of the Related Art
In general, a caller (calling party) ID refers to an identifier used in an identification function for informing a called party of the caller's name and telephone number, the time of call (i.e., the time when the caller tries to make a telephone call to a called party), and the like. The identification of the caller is determined by interpreting data conforming to CCITT (International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee), V.23,or BELL202 standard, which is received between a first ring signal and a second ring signal, or prior to the first ring when the called party gets an incoming phone call.
Conventionally, advertising services have been available using telephones. Specifically, a telephone or a terminal receives an advertisement message for the associated advertisement service subscriber (hereinafter, referred to as “subscriber”). The subscriber listens to the received advertisement through his/her telephone or a cellular phone. The subscriber is then paid a prescribed amount of money for the subscriber's listening to the advertisement.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a related art system for transmitting and receiving an advertisement character message through a telephone or a terminal.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown the system for transmitting and receiving an advertisement character message. It includes an advertisement service company unit 20, a cable communication or mobile communication company unit 30, and an advertisement service subscriber unit (hereinafter, referred to as “subscriber unit”) 40.
The advertisement service company unit 20 is adapted to produce and provide an advertisement when an advertiser (i.e., sponsor) pays advertising fees and/or charges. The advertiser thus requests that the advertisement be provided to subscribers of the advertisement service company unit 20.
The cable communication or mobile communication company unit 30 is adapted to provide communication service to the advertisement service company unit 20, so that it can use a communication network to send the advertisement to subscribers. The subscriber unit 40 is adapted to receive the advertisement telephone call through the cable communication or mobile communication company unit 30 when the subscriber joins the advertisement service company as a member. That is, the subscriber joins the advertisement receiving service and selects certain advertisement service starting times and the number of times for the service to be provided. The subscriber thus receives the advertisements.
The operation of the system for transmitting and receiving advertisement messages as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
First, when the advertiser 10 makes a payment of a certain amount of money for an advertisement to the advertisement service company 20, and requests that the advertisement be sent. The advertisement service company 20 makes an advertisement telephone call to a subscriber through an advertisement receiving service from the cable communication/mobile communication company unit 30. The advertisement service company 20 makes these calls according to the subscriber's selection of a certain advertisement service starting time, and the number of times that the service should be provided.
At this time, since the service time and the number of times the subscriber receives advertisement messages is set at the subscriber's option, when a subscriber increases the frequency of the incoming advertisement messages, the amount of money for the receipt of the advertisement messages that accumulates in his/her account increases.
For example, when the subscriber sets a value of the number of times for the advertisement service to be provided to three (3), for example by selecting the advertisement service starting time of 9 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m., the advertisement service company makes an advertisement telephone call to the subscriber unit 40 through the cable communication or mobile communication company unit 30 at the corresponding advertisement service starting time. The subscriber can thus hear the advertisement character message incoming through his/her telephone or mobile terminal at those times.
The related art system and method has several problems. For example, in the related art system, a subscriber can receive only voice advertisement messages in real time. For this reason, there has been a problem in that if the subscriber is away from the telephone for a moment or on another call, the subscriber cannot receive the scheduled voice advertisement message. An automatic answering telephone may be used to receive the advertisement message, but that can be expensive and may not be available to the subscriber. Accordingly, use of service may require additional cost or may be unavailable to the subscriber.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.